


I Need Us Back

by WolfMeister (orphan_account)



Series: ANTOH [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Brotherly Affection, Flirting, M/M, Mark of Cain, Outer Space, Past Castiel/Dean Winchester, Past Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Past Relationship(s), So much angst, canon compliant until season 9, idk if there's a happy ending, metatron is a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-05-03 03:04:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 15,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14559447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/WolfMeister
Summary: Castiel, Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer must figure out how to readjust to their world after spending so long a time as humans.(shitty summary is shitty)((temporary hiatus))





	1. Worse Than Hell

**Author's Note:**

> so I'm gonna start posting this, probably starting out regularly, then maybe not so much...? But I did promise a sequel. Also this makes no sense if you haven't read Another Type of Hell first. The first chapter is a direct continuation from ANTOH

It took more than just a few minutes before Castiel could walk back into the bunker without fear of breaking down in front of Dean.

“Hey Cas, are you okay?” Sam asks once Castiel re-enters the room. Cas doesn’t know how to answer, so he probably just ended up staring blankly at Sam.

“Do you think that Gabriel is still alive?” Castiel asks after a prolonged period of awkward silence. Both Winchesters look at the angel curiously. Castiel avoids Dean’s gaze.

“Why do you ask?” Dean questions. Cas still refuses to look at him. “Cas, what’s up?” Castiel shakes his head and lets out a sigh.

“I think there’s something I left in the basement…” Sam says, standing up. “Also, Gabriel could be alive, since he has pretended to be dead on multiple occasions,” he adds as he passes by Castiel. Dean stands up once Sam is out of the room and walks over toward Castiel, hands in his pockets. And at that moment, Castiel hates Metatron, more than before.

“Cas, seriously. You’ve been acting weird ever since you got back to the bunker.”

“We have to go to Hell,” Castiel blurts out. At least he knows where Lucifer and Michael are.

“What?” Dean wonders, clearly taken aback. “I’m not going back there, Cas. You should know that.” Castiel nods, still not meeting Dean’s eyes.

“I’ll go by myself then.”

“Why do you need to go to Hell?” Castiel takes a shaky breath, knowing that Dean won’t possibly understand, knowing that if he has any chance of getting his brothers out (and Adam as well) that he has to lie.

“I have…business there…” Dean narrows his eyes. “It’s important, Dean.” _It’s important because I can’t have you back and they’re family_ , Castiel thinks. “And I won’t force you to help me Dean, because I know you won’t, and neither will Sam.” Of course, that just ended up making Dean even more suspicious. “It would be…refreshing…if you could track down Metatron and keep him locked up here though,” Castiel adds, finally daring to look at Dean’s face.

“What the hell are you going on about, Cas?” Dean wonders, eyebrows furrowed so deeply that Castiel is afraid it will leave a permanent mark. Castiel opens his mouth, but quickly shuts it and leaves Dean standing in the bunker as he flies down to Hell.

~

Gabriel can’t stand it. The little girl had long since left with her father, but Gabriel doesn’t know where he should go. He doesn’t know what to do, but to go cuddle with Sam, but he knows he can’t.

He doesn’t even know if his brothers remember what happened, or if it’s just him.

But then again, anything would be better than being alone.

So he calls out to Castiel, and prays (though he’s never prayed before, so he’s not sure how it works exactly) for his little brother to come find him.


	2. Got To Make a Plan

Immediately as Castiel arrives in Hell, he hears his name being called. And then he realizes that he has no plan on opening the Cage. Castiel sighs and takes off once again, this time toward the person who was calling him, scaring a demon in the process.

~

Castiel appears next to Gabriel on a bench, and Gabriel nearly sobs in relief. He turns his body and engulfs Castiel in a hug. The archangel is elated when he feels his little brother’s wings wrap around his vessel.

“You remember, don’t you?” Castiel asks, voice quiet and timid, rougher than usual, like he’s been yelling…or crying. “Please, you remember…?”

“Of course I do; how could I forget suddenly becoming a human teenager?” Gabriel jokes, giving a weak chuckle. “And how could I forget my happy brothers, finally getting my family back to normal.” Gabriel releases Castiel from the embrace. “Does anyone else remember?” The younger angel takes a shaky breath and shakes his head, unable to talk about it.

“Do you know how to open the Cage?” Castiel questions Gabriel after a moment of silence allowed for Gabriel to ruminate on Castiel’s answer. Gabriel gives a vague shrug.

“I guess we could use the Horsemen’s rings, if Dean still has them. Other than that…find Dad and ask him…?”

“Neither of us have had any success in finding Him, and Dean threw the amulet away. So the rings are our best option.” Just then, Castiel’s phone rings, and it is unsurprisingly Dean.

“Cas, you’re not in Hell, right?” Dean asks through the phone.

“No Dean, I’m not. I’m in…is this Central Park?” Gabriel nods. “I’m in Central Park. Do you have the Horsemen’s rings still?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I need them, for something…” Castiel mumbles.

“Dude, are you planning on opening Lucifer’s Cage?!” Damn, Dean figured it out. Though Castiel should’ve guessed that would happen. “Dammit Cas!”

“They are my brothers, Dean,” Castiel mutters, knowing full well that Dean still won’t like it. “And yours as well.”

“He’s the Devil Cas! He killed you, and Bobby! Michael isn’t any better.”

“They have changed, Dean!”

“How could you possibly know that?!” Castiel falls silent. He looks at Gabriel, silently pleading for his help. Gabriel shrugs.

“Can’t help you with this one bro, sorry,” Gabe murmurs.

“You wouldn’t understand, even if I told you Dean,” Castiel finally responds, ending the call. He turns to his older brother. “I have to tell him Gabriel. I can’t bear being around him without him knowing.” Gabriel sighs.

“That’s understandable, but before you do that, I think we should take smaller steps, such as letting both Sam and Dean know that I am still alive.” Castiel nods. “And of course make sure that they won’t kill me.” Gabriel looks Cas straight in the eyes. “Do you wanna do that now?”

“We could, but it would probably be better if we waited with Dean, as he doesn’t seem to be in a good mood right now,” Castiel mutters. Gabriel nods sagely. “Of course, only if you are comfortable with seeing Sam again.”

“I can deal with it, just like old times right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are kinda short huh


	3. A Rather Feelsy Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here comes the pain

And with that, the two angels are off to the Men of Letters Bunker. Well, specifically Sam’s room because neither are quite sure where Dean is at the moment. Sam obviously hears the flutter of wings, but doesn’t jump like Dean does.

“Hey Cas,” Sam greets, not looking up from his book.

“Hello Sam,” Castiel replies. Castiel looks over at Gabriel, who is staring, slack-jawed, at Sam.

“…Heya Sammy!” Gabriel exclaims, putting on a look of false joy and causing Sam to jump and nearly fall off his bed. He comes up with a gun pointing at Gabriel. “Oh, put that away, you know that won’t harm me!”

“You’re dead,” Sam states, not lowering the gun. Gabriel sighs dramatically.

“Correction Samsquatch, you _thought_ I was dead. I never actually died. Sure, Luci thought he killed me and that was just problematic later on, but I actually pretended to be my own projection, while really the fake me attacked him from behind and I disappeared. Easy peasy.” Sam narrows his eyes suspiciously at the archangel.

“It’s alright Sam,” Castiel sighs. Sam glances at him and then slowly lowers his gun.

“Wow, finally. You listen to the younger angel I see.” Gabriel rolls his eyes. “Also Sammy, don’t tell Dean quite yet, he’s not in a particularly good mood, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now.”

“Why do you tell me now that you’re alive?” Sam questions, still keeping his distance from the former Trickster. Gabriel shrugs, sticking a lollipop in his mouth.

_“It really is great to be able to summon candy again,”_ Gabriel speaks in Castiel’s mind. Castiel huffs, in either laughter or indignation, Gabriel can’t really be sure. _“Do you think I should tell him?”_

_“It might not be the best idea. You shouldn’t pile this amount of information on Sam,”_ Castiel responds telepathically, while Sam just stares at the two awkwardly.

“Okay, well, I don’t have anything else to tell you right at this moment, but eventually I will.” Gabriel winks at Sam. “But mind telling us where the Horsemen’s rings are? That would be a lot of help.”

“I’m not telling you Gabriel, or you Cas. Dean told me what you’re planning on doing and I really don’t want to see Lucifer again. Seriously, I don’t understand why either of you would want to restart the Apocalypse in the first place!”

“Do you think I’d really let my brothers out of the Cage if they were going to restart the Apocalypse? I’m not an idiot, Sam, I won’t do that, especially since I know what effect it will have on you. I won’t endanger you anymore.” And with that Gabriel leaves the bunker in a flutter of golden wings. Sam looks at Castiel with a questioning look on his face.

“He’ll explain what he means by that later, Sam. I can’t tell you myself, it isn’t fair to Gabriel, but he’s telling the truth. Sam, where are the rings?”

“Ask Dean.” Castiel takes a deep breath. This is going to be a lot more difficult than previously assumed.


	4. Castiel Spills

Dean chooses that moment to walk into Sam’s room. He’s talking, about a case it sounds like, but he stops mid-sentence when he notices Castiel standing in the middle of the room and his brother with a gun in his hand. Dean looks between the two. Cas looks at Sam, silently pleading him not to mention anything about Gabriel.

“Cas just, he just startled me,” Sam says after a much prolonged period of silence. Sam places the gun on his bedside table. “He just got here.”

“Why Sam’s room?” Dean finally asks.

“I’ve grown accustomed to Sam’s room from watching the Netflix,” Cas responds. “Though I do want to talk to you Dean. It doesn’t have anything to do with the rings.” Dean raises an eyebrow. “Privately.”

~

Gabriel spends a few minutes poking and prodding through Dean’s mind, attempting to find the location of the Horsemen’s rings. And he does find the location, though they happen to be in Dean’s coat pocket. He assumes that Dean is just being cautious and making sure that no one takes them, since he knows Castiel wants them. This is going to be fun!

~

Dean leads Castiel to his room where he immediately sits down on his bed, grabbing an opened beer bottle from his desk. He takes a quick swig and stares at the angel in front of him expectantly. Cas shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

“There is a reason that I want to let Lucifer and Michael out of the Cage,” Castiel starts, voice soft. “I am confident that neither will restart the Apocalypse. But you won’t understand unless I tell you what happened.”

“When would there have been any time for anything with _Lucifer_ to happen?”

“Time was different for us,” Cas mumbles. “It felt like almost a year, but for you it was mere minutes. And it was all because Metatron decided to mess with me.” Castiel wasn’t sure if all the blame should be placed on him, but it didn’t seem like there would be any other reason to depower the three archangels.

So Castiel speaks, spilling it all, unable to stop when he starts. He thinks he might’ve started crying. Maybe he switched to Enochian at some point. He didn’t really care what Dean learned about his brothers, not at that moment. He just wanted Dean to _know._ He _needed_ him to know. Castiel can feel his throat turning raw, he can feel his grace thrumming within his vessel, reaching out to Dean. He can see the world turning green again. The world feels like it’s spinning around him and he can’t stay on his feet. He can feel the fluttering of his heart, of his wings. He’s scared, he’s nervous, he’s even a little hopeful, and he feels so human that it hurts.

What Castiel really wants. He wants to wrap his arms around Dean, press his lips against his hair. He wants to be kissed and loved and he can’t have it. Castiel wants it back, all of it. He wants the humanity, the horrid teenage hormones, the stress caused from school, the stupid high school drama. He wants it all. He wants Dean to remember, for Sam to remember. He wants his family back and he doesn’t want food to just taste like molecules.

And he can’t have it back, because Metatron took _everything_ away.

Castiel pours those feelings into his story, he lets the emotions rip him apart. And he knows that he stopped talking long ago, and now he’s just standing there, eyes red and face wet. Dean does nothing but stare at him, beer bottle long since forgotten on his nightstand. Dean just stares and Castiel wants him to say something, anything, but Dean just stares.

Cas thinks he might faint, but his grace won’t allow him.

“Say something Dean, please,” the angel pleads through a breathy whisper.

“What do you want me to say?” Dean whispers back, voice sounding hoarse. How long was Castiel talking?

“Anything.”


	5. What Goes On in the Cage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Michael time!
> 
> I had some kind of weird but interesting ideas that I wanted to add into the story, this is kind of the beginning of two.

“Michael, you have to calm down,” Lucifer states firmly, placing his hands on his older brother’s shoulders. Michael shrugs him off and attempts to blast the walls apart, for what seems like the millionth time. “That won’t do anything, and believe me, I have _tried!”_

“Well what am I supposed to do, Lucifer?!” Michael screams. Adam flinches and scoots further into the corner. “I want to be _out!_ I want _everything_ back!” With each word, he slams his fists against the wall. “Get me out!”

“Hey! Calm down, Gabriel and Castiel are going to get us out of here…most likely. Gabriel knows a lot of ways of opening up the Cage, just have faith and patience.”

“Faith has gotten me locked up in this Cage! _Faith_ has gotten me happiness only to be ruined by the _Cage again!”_ Michael shouts, his voice resonating throughout the walls. Honestly, Lucifer can’t really blame him, he’s pissed off too, he’s just more used to all of this.

“I understand, Michael, but at least relax enough so that you aren’t scaring the shit out of Adam. Deep breaths, brother.”

~

“Do you,” Dean starts, hesitating. “Do you still…like me?” Castiel feels like he should’ve known that Dean would ask that question, that he should’ve known that he wouldn’t be able to answer it. Dean does take Castiel’s silence for an answer though, and nods just the slightest bit. “How long have you…uh…” Dean trails off.

“After I pulled you from Hell.” Dean gives a puzzled look. “After I raised you from Perdition, I had to reform your body, and that takes a lot of time. During that time, we conversed, just your soul and just my grace. I fell for you then, for the first time. You don’t remember it Dean, and I can’t make you remember, but I think you fell for me as well.”

~

“I don’t need to breathe anymore, Lucifer,” Michael sasses. “I wish I did,” he adds quieter, sounding defeated as he slumps against the wall and buries his face in his arms, wings cocooning himself. Lucifer kneels next to his brother, wrapping his own wings around Michael as well.

“It’s okay Michael, you’re not in this alone,” Lucifer whispers, the sound still echoing in the Cage.

“How could you possibly have managed to survive here alone for millennia?” Michael wonders, voice muffled and hoarse. “I’m so sorry.” Lucifer huffs out a bitter laugh.

“Yeah, it sucked, and that’s an understatement.”

“How did you not go insane?”

“I did, just not necessarily from the Cage,” Lucifer states, shrugging. “The Mark made me insane first, and then getting locked up in Hell for a really long time with no one to talk to just made it considerably worse!” Satan exclaims cheerily. “But I don’t blame you Mika, so don’t worry about it too much.” Lucifer looks over at Adam, causing him to flinch. “Relax Adam, I’m not gonna hurt you…anymore…maybe…”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Adam whispers, his voice barely audible. Lucifer shrugs.

“Well, I’m more worried about my brother right now, so you’re fine for the time being.”

“What happened to make Michael, uh…” Adam trails off, daring to ask personal questions. Lucifer glances at him, eyes shining red for just a moment. Adam pulls his legs up to his chest. Lucifer slowly gets to his feet in a very intimidating manner. He walks over to Adam. Adam whimpers once the Devil kneels down before him. Lucifer taps Adam on the forehead, causing him to flinch back and hit his head on the wall. Lucifer chuckles at his idiocy.

“I just shared with you some…memories. Pleasant ones that no one actually remembers except for Mika here, me, and hopefully Gabriel and Castiel,” Lucifer explains as Adam freezes, eyes wide at the images flashing through his mind. “And the little extra that I did should help with the pain and, well, mental problems bound to arise.” Lucifer walks back over to Michael. Adam takes a moment, but then he walks over to the two archangels as well, not saying a word. Michael looks up and weakly smiles at Adam’s company, then he starts to claw at his wings. Lucifer looks at his older brother in horror. Adam stares at him with confusion, until he sees bright feathers falling all around them, the color of angel’s grace.


	6. Gabriel's Taking It and Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh a flashback and a slightly happier chapter

After Dean and Cas leave his room, Sam sits back down on his bed, though he ignores his book. Gabriel…he seemed a bit defensive, and he acted like he cared. Not only that but Dean and him, they just assumed he was dead all this time, no mention of otherwise from the archangel. This, combined with Castiel acting strangely to say the least (well, stranger than usual), is a bit too much for Sam. It is understandable on why Gabriel doesn’t want Dean to know he’s alive, and it would make sense that Castiel is respecting his older brother’s wishes.

But why tell him?

That doesn’t really make any sense to Sam Winchester. He supposes it is because Gabriel did show more interest in him before, even going so far as to flirt with him. There was also that time Sam never told Dean about.

It was after they learned that Gabriel wasn’t actually the Trickster. Sam went on a food run, or maybe it was a beer run but he got food too. Gabriel had appeared behind him right before he got in the Impala to head back to the motel the Winchesters were staying at. Sam nearly dropped his grocery bags, and he didn’t get back to the motel for a while…

_“Hey Sam!” Gabriel greets cheerily, scaring the shit out of Sam, who fumbles with his grocery bags so he doesn’t drop them. Sam turns to face the Trickster/archangel. Gabriel holds up his hands. “I just want to talk, without Dean, because he wants to kill me. And if I remember correctly, you wanted to talk with me before.” Sam puts a deadly bitchface on._

_“That was before you blatantly told Dean and I to say yes to your brothers,” Sam growls through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Sam begins to walk away, though is stopped as Gabriel flutters down directly in front of him._

_“Okay, I get it, you’re pissed at me. Fair enough, I’m pissed at you. Well, a little less pissed now. But seriously, I want to talk to you about something other than the fucking Apocalypse,” Gabriel states casually. Sam can’t see a way out of this, so he sighs in defeat._

_“Fine.”_

_“We should go talk somewhere more, hmm, private though.” Gabriel snaps his fingers and Sam finds himself standing in a lavish apartment. A dog comes bounding up to him and jumps up onto his legs. Sam smiles and kneels down, carefully placing his bags on the floor and scratches the dog behind his ears._

__

_Sam straightens his back and sees Gabriel leaning against a counter, mindlessly biting into a chocolate cupcake. The dog hops up onto a stool next to Gabriel._

__

_“His name’s Hershey.” Gabriel pats the dog on his head._

_“What did you want to talk to me about?” Sam asks, getting straight to the matter at hand. “This can’t take long.”_

_“Yeah it can, Dean doesn’t know where you are, neither do you, and it would take hours for him to drive here anyway.”_

_“Get to the point, Gabriel.” Gabriel grins._

_“Ooh! I like it when you say my name!” the archangel jokes. Sam rolls his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I really just wanted to apologize to you actually. I know! Sounds ridiculous! I would never do that!” Sam just proceeds to stare at him. “Do you wanna cupcake or something?”_

_“Not really,” Sam replies, wondering why Gabriel’s being so nice to him suddenly. “Why are you apologizing to me?”_

_“Because I like you better than your brother,” Gabriel deadpans, though completely serious. “You’re nicer to me. Plus, I figured I should for Mystery Spot, since that lesson clearly didn’t get across, so the whole thing ended up being pointless. I also do realize that it isn’t completely your fault that the Apocalypse started, since Dean-o broke the first seal and all that. It’s also kind of nice to see Luci again, just a little bit. It would be better under different circumstances.”_

_“What was the lesson you were trying to teach me?”_

_“Your brother is gonna die and go to Hell and there’s nothing you can do about it, so don’t do anything rash and stupid, like for instance, trusting a demon and getting addicted to demon blood. Also don’t seek revenge I guess…” Gabriel snaps his fingers and some crème brûlée appears on the counter behind Gabriel. “You better take my apology, Samoose, because I don’t usually apologize to people, especially for my pranks!”_

_“I guess I will, but that doesn’t necessarily make anything better.” Gabriel nods in agreement, sticking his finger in the sweets he conjured up and sucking it off, wiggling his eyebrows at Sam as he does so. Sam rolls his eyes before another question pops up in his mind. “Why are you glad to see Lucifer?”_

_“He’s my older brother, and was my favorite, I haven’t seen any of my brothers since I left Heaven, save for Castiel. You should know what it feels like, getting to see your older brother again after he’s been in Hell for a while.”_

Sam hadn’t really thought of that encounter for years now. He finds himself wondering what happened to Hershey. And then he realizes that maybe Gabriel liked him more than he let on.

~

Gabriel silently flies down beside Dean’s bed, invisible. He notices Castiel’s eyes flicker toward him, but his brother doesn’t say anything, thankfully. He’s about to reach into Dean’s jacket pocket and pull out the rings when Dean starts to talk.

“That…actually makes a lot of sense,” Dean murmurs, laughing nervously. Gabriel quirks an eyebrow at Castiel. “Just about the way you always act around me, and what everyone keeps saying.”

“What do you mean, ‘what everyone keeps saying’?” Castiel questions, head tilting slightly and ignoring Gabriel as best he can. Dean shrugs.

“It started with Uriel, telling me your weakness is that you like me. And then Crowley, Balthazar, Meg, and others started mentioning it.” Gabriel is genuinely curious now, wanting to see how this plays out. He crosses his arms and leans against Dean’s nightstand.

_“Gabriel, take the rings and leave,”_ Castiel growls in his mind. _“Please.”_ Then Castiel talks to Dean. “What about you, Dean?” Castiel asks timidly, trying hard not to glare daggers at his brother, who still isn’t leaving.

“What about me?” Dean asks, then his eyes widen. “Oh. You mean how do _I_ feel, huh?” Gabriel can tell that this conversation is much too awkward for the emotionally constipated Dean Winchester. Gabriel sticks his hand in Dean’s pocket and pulls out the rings, quickly disappearing from the room to let Castiel and Dean finish their awkward conversation in private, much to Castiel’s relief. Dean breaks eye contact with the angel in front of him. “I…I try not to think about that.” The two remain silent for a while. “I don’t know, Cas, I think I already knew and just wouldn’t allow myself to believe it.” Castiel waits patiently for Dean to continue. But he doesn’t. And Cas is worried that Dean doesn’t _want_ to talk to him anymore. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle that, so the angel turns to leave the room, his hand on the doorknob as Dean calls out.

“Cas, wait.” Castiel pauses, but he doesn’t turn back to look at Dean. “You know I’m not good with talking about…me,” Dean mutters gruffly. Castiel hears him get off the bed and walk toward him. “Or emotions really.” Cas looks down at the floor.

“I know Dean,” he confirms.

“I’ve tried to tell you before,” Dean nearly whispers, finally getting Castiel to drop his hand and look at Dean. He’s a lot closer than Cas thought, and Castiel has to resist the urge to just kiss him.

“What do you mean?” Dean takes a deep breath and chuckles.

“Before Purgatory, after Purgatory, I said things to you,” Dean prompts, hoping Castiel will remember. And he does, he definitely does.

_I’d rather have you, cursed or not._

_We’re family. We need you. I need you._

How could Cas possibly forget? He feels tears pricking at his eyes as he looks up at Dean, and Dean can see that he knows what he’s talking about. Castiel blinks the tears away before he becomes a sobbing wreck again.

“Can I kiss you?” Castiel asks timidly, after a moment of silence. Dean replies by leaning down and pressing his lips against his angel’s. Castiel immediately wraps his arms around Dean’s neck, pulling him closer. Dean gently places his hands on Cas’s hips.

 

When Dean pulls away, there’s a goofy smile on his face and Castiel can’t help but think _this makes everything worth it._


	7. Freedom and High Heels?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry that this is two days late! I was at Denver comic con on Sunday, and then i just forgot yesterday entirely.

Immediately after Gabriel got the Horsemen’s Rings, he went to that building in Detroit where Sam said yes to Lucifer. He throws the rings, which attaches to what he supposes the same wall it did for Sam and Dean, and recites the incantation.

 _“Bvtmon tabges babalon.”_ The door to the Cage opens and Gabriel stands, waiting. “Hopefully those morons notice the open Cage,” Gabriel murmurs to himself. Then he yells into the black nothingness, “Hey Luci! Mika! The freaking Cage is open! Get your asses out!” He stands there for a while.

~

“Michael please! Stop it!” Lucifer pleads, ignoring Adam’s attempts to get the archangels’ attention. Michael pays no heed to Lucifer and continues to rip his wings to shreds. Lucifer tries to still Michael’s hands, but Michael pushes them away.

“Is the Cage supposed to have a hole?!” Adam shouts, effectively getting Lucifer’s attention, but not so much Michael’s. “Because I’m pretty sure that hole just opened up.”

“No the Cage doesn’t have a damn hole,” Lucifer states, confused, then looks where Adam is pointing. “Well holy shit, would you look at that. Someone was kind enough to open the Cage!” Lucifer grabs Michael’s arm to hoist him up, but Michael yanks his arm away.

“Don’t touch me!” he screams.

“The Cage is open Michael! Don’t you want to get out?” Michael looks up at his younger brother, before unsteadily getting to his own feet. “C’mon Adam, don’t want to be left behind…again…” Lucifer takes hold of Michael’s arm and clutches onto Adam’s shoulder as well, who cringes but allows it. “You should close your eyes.”

~

Gabriel taps his foot impatiently. It really shouldn’t be taking this long, but he’s still waiting. He lets out a sigh of annoyance when finally, _finally,_ he hears the flutter of wings and sees a bright white light. Then he realizes that his brother’s kind of need vessels. So he snaps two into existence, even though he knows that it will take quite a lot out of him. They look like their old vessels, that guy named Nick and the younger John Winchester. Hopefully that’s not too weird for Sam and Dean. Lucifer is the first one to get out of the Cage, and he quickly gets his fake vessel to say yes to him. Next is Adam(?), like previously mentioned, Gabriel isn’t actually sure that’s his name. He has his arm covering his eyes. Smart. And then Michael gets into his vessel.

That’s when it goes to shit.

Michael collapses, grace shining through his back. He shakes violently. Gabriel looks up at Lucifer with wide-eyes. Lucifer shrugs, with equally wide eyes, then runs to Michael’s side with Gabriel.

“You can open your eyes!” Gabriel shouts at Adam. Adam lowers his arm and gasps in surprise. “Castiel, little bro! We’re gonna come to the Bunker, please make sure Dean is preoccupied and Sam isn’t going to freak out because Satan!” Gabriel quickly prays, well kind of, saying it aloud.

“He’s been ripping his wings,” Lucifer explains, gesturing at Adam to get his ass over here. Adam walks over, keeping a wary eye on Michael, not sure what to do. Gabriel snaps and the four of them land on the elongated table in the Men of Letters Bunker. “Michael, hey, look at me,” Lucifer whispers while Gabriel heads to Sam’s room, Adam following him for lack of anything better to do. He opens the door and Sam sits upright in his bed.

“You’re back,” Sam states the obvious. Gabriel rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, and with your younger brother who you left in Hell,” Gabe adds. Adam glares at Sam. “Also Satan’s on the table, so you should probably not go out there for a while.” Gabriel shrugs.

 _“What?!”_ Sam hisses.

“Michael’s also there, but he’s sort of…whacked out. Where’s Cassie? Have they come out of Dean’s room yet?” Gabriel asks, wiggling his eyebrows. “Hopefully everything worked out well for them, I sure hope so. Do you know where Metatron is? We’re gonna go murder his ass.” Sam stares at Gabriel, not sure what to make of all the sudden subject changes.

“I don’t know where Metatron is, and I don’t think they’ve left Dean’s room…but how did you get them out of the Cage?” Gabriel tosses the Horsemen’s Rings onto Sam’s bed. Sam stares down at them in shock. He looks up at the archangel, steeling his expression. “Dean would’ve noticed.”

“Well, he didn’t because he was so busy talking to Castiel about…stuff…I left quickly because Cassie told me to and it was a very private conversation.” Just as Gabriel finishes talking, a piercing scream rips through the stillness of the Bunker. Sam looks at Gabriel, puzzled, and jumps up from his bed, grabbing his gun. “Oh put that away!” Adam steps away from the door as Gabriel and Sam bolt past.

“We need to talk later!” Adam shouts after Sam. Sam gives a vague gesture at the comment.

“What the Hell, Sam?” Dean shouts, nearly running into his brother, Castiel right behind him. Then he spots Gabriel and stops dead in his tracks. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Gabriel opens his mouth to answer, but another scream emanates from the room he left Lucifer and Michael. They rush to the scene and find Lucifer standing by the table, arms slightly outstretched, with Michael on the wooden table, a pile of glowing feathers surrounding him. Sam and Dean stop cold, staring at the two archangels in terror and confusion. Gabriel and Cas continue running toward their older brothers.

“I don’t know,” Lucifer mumbles. “He just started screaming.” Gabriel vaults onto the table. “He won’t let me help.” Lucifer sounds heartbroken, and he collapses onto a chair.

“What is he doing?” Castiel asks the Devil. He shakes his head.

“Tearing his wings. I think he doesn’t want them anymore.” Michael starts to mutter incomprehensibly in Enochian, rocking back and forth.

“Is that our _dad?”_ Dean finally voices, referring to Michael’s homemade vessel. Gabriel shoots him a glare as he gently places a hand between Michael’s wings, hand oozing grace. Michael stops rocking, but he continues speaking nonsense. Gabriel gestures for Lucifer to get on the table and do the same thing. Luci obliges. Michael completely relaxes and lays flat on the table.

“Please tell me you have an extra bed somewhere,” Gabriel says, looking at the Winchesters. Sam stares, mouth slightly agape, before nodding and beckoning for the archangels to follow. Dean skirts around them and stands by Castiel.

“What the hell man?”

~

Once Michael is settled nicely in the spare bed, Lucifer turns to Gabriel, Sam still in the room, and says, “I want my dresses back. And some heels would be nice.”

“Like Valentine’s Day?” Gabriel questions. Lucifer nods. “Well in that case, let’s go shopping!” Sam watches the two as they leave the room, and the bunker, confused and not sure he heard that correctly.

Gabriel and Lucifer sure as Hell don’t care who sees them in the women’s section at this rather fancy department store. Lucifer grabs a dress just like the one he wore on Valentine’s Day first (though not stained with blood) and Gabriel gets a gorgeous bluish-purple mini skirt and a very low cut, glittering gold top. They pile their clothes into a shopping cart before moving on to the shoe section of the store. Lucifer picks out a lot of silver and black heels, all stiletto, a few of them heeled boots as well. Gabriel picks anything that is vibrantly colored. Wedges, heels, platforms, he goes for any of them.

By the time the two archangels leave the store, they have at least ten bags. Each. All full of dresses and shoes.

“We should put an outfit on,” Gabriel suggests, “before we go back to the bunker.” Lucifer grins a wicked grin, and the two change into their most ridiculous outfits. Lucifer puts on 3-inch, black pumps with silver studs, a red silk gown, just a nice simple gown, and a single diamond earring. Gabriel on the other hand, he puts on a very low-cut black and gold sparkly dress and 5-inch blue, yellow, and pink platform stilettos, the heels in the shape of T-Rexes. Then they go back to the bunker, but not before complimenting each other’s outfits.


	8. Sam is Confused, but What's New

“What did you and Cas talk about?” Sam wonders, wandering into the kitchen where Dean is leaning against the counter and drinking some beer. Sam came for beer too. It’s just been a really rough and confusing day. Dean shrugs in an incredibly vague way.

“Stuff,” the older Winchester says, even more vague than his shrug was. Sam glares at Dean with his classic bitchface. “It was…a private conversation, Sammy.”

“A private conversation, and I know exactly what it was about,” a mischievous voice says. Dean chokes and coughs, doubling over. Sam turns around and sees extravagantly dressed archangels. “Like what you see?” Gabe asks, winking. Lucifer scoffs at his little brother.

“Clearly he thinks _I’m_ more attractive,” Satan counters, smirking down at Sam because he can do that with his high heels. Sam finds it very unsettling, having someone taller than him, especially Lucifer. Gabriel places his hands on his hips and turns to look at Lucifer. Lucifer faces the younger archangel.

“Princess Luci, I must respectfully disagree!” Gabriel exclaims. Lucifer raises an eyebrow. “It has been proven time and time again that Sam not only finds _me_ more attractive, but that he enjoys my company more.”

“Since when has that been proven?” Sam asks, incredulous. No one notices Dean leave the kitchen shaking his head with two more beers. Gabriel turns to the moose, an emotion looking vaguely of pain flashes in his eyes before the archangel gasps and clutches his chest in a melodramatic manner. Sam stares at him with his second bitchface of the day. Well, probably more like his fifth one. It’s really just too many in one day.

“How could you not remember?”

“Of course he doesn’t remember Gabe, no one but the four of us do. And kind of Adam now, because I shared that information with him,” Lucifer states calmly. Gabriel glances at his brother. _“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,”_ he whispers into Gabriel’s mind. Gabe sighs and looks at the ground.

“It’s been proven in a time you don’t remember, but I can’t tell you about it right now. Too many emotions for one day,” Gabriel replies honestly. Sam’s brows furrow in confusion, but the Trickster doesn’t explain anymore. “But you didn’t answer my question! Do you like what you see?” Sam just stares at Gabriel, mouth slightly agape and eyebrows quirked just slightly. “I look so good you’re speechless, right?” Gabriel adds in his signature eyebrow wiggle for good measure.

“…Are you wearing anything under that?” Sam finally asks, slightly disturbed.

“Nope!”

“Why would he need to? Underwear is uncomfortable,” Lucifer states, a look of disgust on his face. “Just like automobiles, very cramped as I have heard from Castiel. Not too bad when you’re a human, but awful when you’re an angel.”

“Do you know anything about being human?” Sam asks. Lucifer nods.

“Of course, and it sucks. I did possess you, and Nick, but he wasn’t in a car nearly as much as you are. I just sucked out all of your experiences. And had experiences of my own.”

“You nearly killed us all,” Gabriel mutters, rolling his eyes, referring to the first time Lucifer drove a car. “Cas is a much better driver than you.” Sam stares at the two, wondering when Lucifer would have ever driven a car and when Gabriel would ever have willingly gone into a car. “It was a catastrophe,” Gabriel explains, looking directly at Sam. “He nearly crashed fifteen times in a ten-minute car trip. Ridiculous.” Lucifer glares accusingly at Gabe.

“Like you could’ve done better.”

“He could’ve,” someone new says from the doorway. It’s Michael, out of bed and looking kind of pale. “What are you two wearing? Why do you even have those clothes?”

“We went shopping,” Lucifer states. “Can we not wear these? Are they too sinful?” Michael sighs.

“I don’t think you can become any more sinful, Lucifer,” Michael deadpans. A grin spreads across Lucifer’s face. “And no, I would not like to test that.” Lucifer starts laughing, and it doesn’t seem like he’s not going to stop anytime soon, so Gabriel skirts around his older brother and over toward Sam.

“You look like you want to leave the kitchen,” Gabriel states. Sam snorts.

“Aren’t you perceptive,” the moose mumbles. Gabriel shrugs.

“Well, I try my best. C’mon.” Sam follows Gabriel purely because he doesn’t want to stay in the same room as Lucifer, especially since Lucifer’s cackling brings back bad memories of his hallucinations and his time in Hell. Hopefully he won’t start singing.

“Why don’t you want to explain why you’re being so nice to me?” Sam questions the archangel once they sit down at the elongated wooden table. Gabriel shrugs nonchalantly, though the look in his eyes gives him away. Sam can see the sadness lingering.

“Maybe because I was such a dick before,” Gabriel answers. He’s not lying, not completely anyway. He’s just avoiding certain truths. Angels seem to do that a lot.

“What about Cas?”

“What about him?”

“What did he tell Dean?”

“Probably too much. It got very emotional in that room, and I was only there for a few minutes! I think Cassie was crying…? Completely understandable, by the way. But hopefully everything worked out okay!” Gabriel explains, rather vague, but not nearly as vague as Dean and his vague shrugging. “I wonder if he mentioned anything about you and me…” Gabriel taps his chin lightly, spacing out as he stares at a wall in thought. Sam furrows his brows and can only guess what Gabriel means. “That would kinda be awkward, right?” Gabriel says, turning to look at Sam with a goofy grin on his face. And then Gabriel just disappears and Sam sits there, not moving, for the next 30 minutes.


	9. Whoops, I Forgot Adam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so the chapter title is the way it is because i was in the middle of writing this chapter when i realized i didn't even mention adam and i was like "well my bad"
> 
> also this is like serious but also funny and i'm not sure how that happened

Michael and Lucifer notice quickly that Castiel is much happier than Gabriel, though Gabriel continues to make stupid jokes and puns and whatnot. The whole situation upsets Lucifer greatly, and he wants to punch someone in the face, but he’s not sure who, so he doesn’t punch anyone in the face. Sadly. Michael on the other hand, he’s probably certifiably insane. Lucifer gets that.

So Lucifer isn’t really surprised when Michael comes up to him and orders, “Rip my grace out.” All Lucifer does is sigh and walk away. Of course, that leads to Michael asking Lucifer daily to rip his grace out. It gets really awkward when Michael asks in front of everyone present in the bunker. Quite honestly, Michael says it in the most awkward moment. It kind of looked like Castiel and Dean were about to kiss, Gabriel was perched on the back of his chair with his mouth full of pancakes (which he nearly choked on), Lucifer was reading contently, and Sam was sort of glaring at his brother. And then Michael just said “Lucifer, rip my grace out,” and Gabriel fell and started choking, Castiel whipped his head around so fast he probably got whiplash, Dean also fell out of his chair, his head landing on Castiel’s crotch, and Sam didn’t even react. Lucifer calmly put his book down and stared at Michael for minutes before answering.

“Fuck. No.”

Cue an intense staring contest between the eldest angels.

At this point, Dean Winchester manages to push himself off of Castiel’s crotch, and finds that his little brother has been staring at him this whole time. His face flames red against his will.

“Sorry Cas,” Dean mumbles, turning his attention back to the angels around the table. Gabriel is just eating his pancakes on the ground, he figures he should do this every day if stuff like this is going to continue happening.

“Don’t you think you’re taking our relationship a little too quickly, Dean?” Castiel questions, a tiny smirk beginning to form upon his lips. Everyone turns their attention toward the couple, completely forgetting about Michael’s comment. Dean is speechless, opening and closing his mouth like a gaping fish. “I’m not objecting or anything.”

“Wow Cassie,” Gabriel finally says, breaking the silence. “Kinky much?” Castiel looks at the Trickster, face completely serious.

“Absolutely,” Castiel deadpans. “The kinkiest.” The look on Dean’s face is priceless, in Castiel’s opinion. He’s looking at Cas with this look of awe and shock. Dean was definitely not prepared for Cas to say _that._ Dean kind of wants Sam to say something, so his vocal chords can actually work again, instead of Dean just staring like an idiot at Castiel with his mouth hanging open. “Dean, don’t look so shocked.” Dean can see Lucifer out of the corner of his eye trying really hard not to laugh. Michael is looking at Gabriel disapprovingly. And Sam is still _staring!_ It’s quite a frustrating situation for Dean, truly.

Dean closes his mouth, clears his throat, and says the first thing that comes to mind, “So, what are your kinks?”

That’s when Lucifer fucking loses it and doubles over laughing. And of course, that’s also when Sam decides to speak up.

“You two are dating?” Sam asks. Clearly that’s all he’s gotten from this ridiculous situation. Dean rolls his eyes at his idiotic brother. “What the hell? When did this happen?”

“A few months ago,” Michael responds. Sam and Dean slowly turn their heads to look at the eldest archangel. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Months, and you didn’t tell me?” Sam asks, looking incredulously at his older brother. Dean shrugs. “Though I can’t say that I’m surprised.” Dean narrows his eyes at Sam.

“What?”

“I realized that you two don’t try very hard to conceal your feelings for each other. It’s really obvious. I’ve known for years, Dean.” Dean doesn’t know how to react.

“Wait, how?”

“The way you act around Cas is practically the same way I acted around Jess,” Sam states nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. “I don’t know why you took so long to tell him.”

“Actually I made the first move,” Castiel states.

“Yeah, Dean-o was way too deep in the closet to even _think_ about acting on his feelings,” Gabriel chuckles. At that even Michael laughs. “Truer words have never been spoken by yours truly.” Lucifer nods sagely, finally regaining his composure. “Truer words than what Lucifer has said in the past.”

“Excuse me?” Lucifer questions, leaning forward and placing his hands on the table. “I speak nothing _but_ the truth! Sam knows.” Dean is quite glad that the conversation has deviated away from his love life.

“Your words don’t mean anything to me, Lucifer,” Sam practically growls. “Why are you still here? We didn’t say you could stay.”

“You’re mean, Sam,” Lucifer states, unfazed. “We’re still here because we don’t have anywhere else to go; we sure can’t return to Heaven. I definitely can’t, Gabriel is supposed to be dead, and Michael isn’t in shape to lead the angels again. Also from what Castiel has told us, we couldn’t return even if we wanted to. This place is also the best way to find information on where Metatron is, so we can make him suffer the way he made us suffer, and also to learn where our Father is. You also can’t make us leave. My words should mean _everything_ to you.”


	10. Lucifer is Filled with Salt

Everyone lapses into silence once Lucifer finishes speaking. Michael stands up, leaving the room, probably to go talk with Adam since everyone forgot about him, again.

Gabriel starts to speak, “Lucifer—“

“Let the _apes_ talk, brother,” Lucifer hisses, quieting the younger archangel. “Let’s see what they have to say to the Devil.” Lucifer glares at the Winchesters, though mostly Sam.

“You need to _leave,”_ Sam orders, deadly quiet. “You, Michael, Gabriel. You three need to get out.”

“Sam,” Castiel mutters, getting everyone’s attention on him. “I understand why you want Lucifer to leave, given what he did to you, and I also understand why you would want Michael to leave, but I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure Michael doesn’t even suggest it to Dean to be his vessel. But Gabriel promised to you that he wouldn’t trick you anymore.”

“That doesn’t mean he was being sincere, Cas.” Lucifer scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“I was,” Gabriel mutters, no longer his usual perky self. “I get it, you don’t trust me, you don’t have a reason to, other than the fact I sacrificed myself for you idiots and tried to kill my brother. Not just any brother either, but the one that raised me and one of my favorite brothers, which I did tell you before Sam.”

“You’re so sweet, Gabe,” Lucifer grins. Gabriel turns his head slightly and wiggles his eyebrows. “Then again, that might just be the candy you eat.” Gabriel gasps.

“Rude!”

“You killed my brother, Gabriel! A lot more than once.”

“I already apologized to you for that! What do you want from me?” Lucifer stands abruptly, startling Dean who almost loses his balance again, and walks over toward Gabriel. He doesn’t say anything; he just stands close by Gabriel as far as the Winchesters can see. Lucifer wants to scream. He wants to punch a wall. Why can’t he just have a happy family, is that really too much to ask for?

“What do you think, Dean?” Lucifer asks. Dean looks at Lucifer with a puzzled expression. “Should we leave? I’m sure Adam wouldn’t mind coming with us.”

“You’re not taking Adam anywhere with you,” Sam states. “He went through the same torture that I did. Why would you stop torturing him now?”

“I’m not in Hell, I’m not in the Cage, I fucking changed and I don’t do that anymore,” Lucifer explains. “Anyway, back to my previous question, what do you think Dean?”

“About what?” Dean asks rather stiffly.

“Should I stay or should I go?” Lucifer sings. Gabriel lets out a bark of laughter while Castiel rolls his eyes. Sam huffs and looks like he’s ready for a fight.

“If Michael is anything like Cas was when he was, uh, a little crazy, then he’s harmless and can stay put until he gets better, if he gets better. If Michael gets better he has to leave,” Dean states.

“Understandable,” Lucifer replies. “And Gabriel and I?” Castiel leans over and whispers into Dean’s ear.

“I want them to stay, and I know how you feel about the two of them, but they want to make things right.” Dean sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

“Why am I making the decision? I’m biased against you asshats. Gabriel killed me a shit ton. Lucifer tortured my brother in Hell!” Dean exclaims, exasperated. “But from what Cas told me…” Dean trails off, lost in thought. “I think you can stay, but if you do anything, one thing, that’s unacceptable, you have to leave,” Dean states, a tone of finality in his voice.

“Dean! You can’t expect me to live with Lucifer!” Sam shouts. “Gabriel…I can live with Gabriel, which reminds me, what happened to your dog?” Gabriel gasps dramatically.

“Hershey!” and then disappears.

“Dean!”

“They won’t stay here forever, Sam!” Dean yells back. “Once we help them with what they need, they can go.”

“It’s the _Devil,_ Dean! Fucking Satan!”

“I am standing right here,” Lucifer says, bitterness evident in his tone.

“Give me one reason on why you won’t do anything to me, or Dean,” Sam demands.

“If I hurt Dean both you and Castiel will be greatly upset, and I will for sure have to leave. One of my brothers that actually like me will end up hating me again. You will hate me more, I won’t have a chance at being happy,” Lucifer explains. “If I hurt you, well even more people will be upset. Castiel and Dean, for obvious reasons, but Gabriel will also be upset and he can actually kill me, so I do not desire to go down that path…again…” Gabriel chooses that moment to reappear, his Jack Russell Terrier nestled in his arms.

“What’d I miss?”


	11. Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor Adam tbh
> 
> Also I'm not posting next week because I'm going to San Diego Comic Con and I'm not bringing my laptop and even if I was I'd probably forget anyway.

“We can stay!” Lucifer responds, ecstatic. Then he looks at the dog. “Since when do you have a dog?”

“Since I decided to get a dog,” Gabriel replies. “His name is Hershey and he is my child.”

“Your child is a giant wolf, not a lap dog,” Lucifer says. Gabriel shrugs and scratches Hershey behind the ears. “Unless you have more children I don’t know about…?” Lucifer looks around at the confused faces. “Gabriel is Loki right, and Loki has a lot of weird children. I’ve met them all during the Apocalypse, and I’m a very proud uncle!”

“I’ve never met them,” Castiel murmurs, sounding hurt.

“We’ll go visit them later when things settle down a bit!” Gabriel decides. “But first I should talk to Samsquatch over here.” Gabriel snaps his fingers and Sam and Gabe appear in Sam’s room, only to see Adam and Michael. “Ri-i-i-ight…Adam wants to talk to you too,” Gabe mutters, hopping up onto Sam’s desk and popping an atrociously blue lollipop into his mouth. “Adam can go first,” he says around the sucker. Adam looks at Gabriel and the archangel nods, motioning for him to speak first. “Get comfortable Mika.” Michael promptly proceeds to sit down right where he’s standing.

“Adam, I’m sorry,” Sam says, rushed, knowing that Adam is probably pissed about that. “I didn’t have the power to get you out myself, and Dean tried, but Death wouldn’t—“

“I don’t care, Sam! You’re just making excuses. Someone got _you_ out, right? Why wasn’t I freed?”

“Castiel barely got me out of there, and he wasn’t even able to get all of me out. He left my soul behind and I ended up in a psych ward because of the hallucinations I was having once I got my soul back. I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t want to eat most of the time, I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t.”

“But you never tried again,” Adam scoffs. Sam can tell that something is very different from when he knew him before. Understandable. Hell changes everyone, the Cage especially. But he seems almost too different.

“What the fuck did Luci do?” Gabriel blurts suddenly. Michael shrugs, though knowing exactly what Gabriel is referring too. “Did you see?”

“I wasn’t paying attention,” Michael mutters, not elaborating. He doesn’t really feel like sharing the fact that he was curled up in a corner of the Cage. “I guess he did more than just give Adam memories of the, uh, events.”

Gabriel huffs out a laugh. “A hell of a lot more.” Michael glares at his brother for the stupid pun. Gabe winks. “Do you know Adam?”

“He told me that it would help with the pain, which it has,” Adam replies. “Just told me it was a little extra. I’m not sure what that means though.” Gabriel and Michael exchange a few looks, deciding who’s going to explain to Sam and Adam on what is going on. Michael sighs and stands up, clearly having lost the slight argument between the two archangels.

“Lucifer changed you,” Michael states.

“No, really,” Adam deadpans. Gabriel tries his best to stifle his laughter. Meanwhile, Sam Winchester the Moose is confused yet again. Adam is too though, so he’s not alone. _“What_ did he change?”

“Your soul. He changed your soul.”

“…I don’t understand.”

“You’re a demon now, Adam,” Michael whispers, though loud in the stillness of the room. “And I’m surprised that you didn’t become a demon sooner with almost 800 years of torture in the Cage. You would have eventually. I saw your soul turning black. Lucifer just sped up the process.” The room falls silent. “You should tell Castiel, Gabriel.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Later,” Gabriel agrees, shrugging and jumping down from the desk. “You two should leave the room, I gotta talk to Sammy.” Michael nods, immediately understanding what Gabriel means, and gestures for Adam to follow him, who leaves with and begins to ask Michael a lot of questions. As the door closes, Sam takes a small step toward Gabriel, who’s dog is sleeping on Sam’s pillow.

“I love you,” Gabe states, sounding nonchalant and appearing quite relaxed. “And also the only reason why Lucifer tortured you is because he felt like you betrayed him. Ha! That’s why he killed me!” Sam has no clue what to say, so there’s a moment of silence between the two.

“You love me?” Sam finally asks. Gabriel nods. “Why’d you mention Lucifer?”

“Because it would probably be for everyone’s best interest that you apologize to him, of course you’d have to be sincere, so take your time,” Gabriel responds, shrugging. “Do you find it weird that I love you?” Sam can see the slight shift in Gabriel’s body posture, telling him that Gabe is a lot more nervous than he’s letting on. He sees him shift uncomfortably on the desk more frequently with every passing second that Sam doesn’t answer. But Sam really has no clue what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had this idea for a while and it started out as a joke (Adam being a demon) but then I grew really fond of it
> 
> also i wrote this chapter before i watched the s13 ep with Loki


	12. Coping Mechanisms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone unimportant dies this chapter, and mention of drugs and I'm sorry but the first part of this chapter is feelsy
> 
> ALSO I'm back! (obviously) and San Diego Comic Con was a blast! I got into Hall H so easily this year it was ridiculous. Now I'm super hyped for a bunch of movies, because we saw sneak peeks and stuff. Like the Bumblebee panel, we watched the first 5 minutes of the movie. And omg the Sony panel with Venom and Into the Spider-Verse!!
> 
> And of course I went to the Supernatural panel too. Like I did last year. We saw a sneak peek of Michael in the next season and I'm shook.

“I…I guess it’s a bit weird…” Sam mutters, slowly articulating his answer. Gabriel’s grin falters the tiniest bit. “I mean,” Sam continues, causing Gabriel’s eyes to flicker with hope. “I thought you hated me.” The Trickster Archangel lets out a bark of laughter.

“I thought I hated you too,” Gabe responds truthfully. “Can’t blame you for that one, but something happened recently, well it wasn’t all that recent if I’m going to be honest. I just realized then and this is honestly why I should never be left alone to my thoughts.”

“Gabriel, I don’t—“

“I get it!” Gabe raises a hand, shushing Sam. “You don’t,” he takes a deep breath. “You don’t love me.” Sam hesitates before nodding. “But that won’t stop me from loving you.” Gabriel swiftly picks up Hershey and flies out of the room, leaving Sam standing there confused.

~

Lucifer is rather surprised when Gabriel shows up next to him just outside of the bunker. Gabriel lets loose a sigh and slumps to the ground. Hershey slowly licks the younger archangel’s face.

“Gabriel, what’s wrong?” Gabriel tilts his head up to look at Lucifer. Lucifer can tell he’s trying hard not to laugh. He thinks he forgot that the Devil was wearing a dress. But Gabriel’s look of amusement is short-lived. Gabe vaguely waves his hand around, which isn’t much of an answer, Lucifer must admit. “Sam?” Lucifer questions, rather warily. Gabriel huffs out a stream of air before nodding. Gabriel pensively pets the small dog in his arms before answering.

“He doesn’t love me, not here. I want to go back, Luci,” Gabe whispers. He snaps his fingers and his dress is replaced with his usual, more comfortable (and modest) outfit. “There’s nothing here for me anymore.” Lucifer hears the pure despair in his younger brother’s voice, and he knows he can’t do anything. Gabriel sniffles, causing Lucifer to glance down. There’s tears streaming down his face as he keeps his eyes on Hershey. Lucifer loses the flamboyant dress, and embraces Gabriel in a hug, albeit awkwardly because of the dog and Lucifer doesn’t show affection much.

“We can do this. We can kill Metatron and find our father. He’ll send us back.” Gabriel sighs.

“I’ve looked for Him, and He’s nowhere to be found. I spent years just trying to find Dad and He won’t present Himself to anyone!” Gabriel’s shouting now, screams muffled by the Devil’s chest.

“This time will be different.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not, but with three archangels looking for Him, He’s sure to notice and do something about it. And Castiel says that he met Him at school. I did too. We know what He looks like now, we can find Him. He can’t stay hidden forever.” Lucifer curls his wings around Gabriel, like he used to do at the beginning of time, before God left and before Lucifer rebelled. They sit together, watching the near empty road and listening to the nature around them. No one comes up to bother them for a long time.

“So,” Gabriel says after a while, night having fallen around them. “I think I’ve had enough of your cold body for one day.”

Lucifer scoffs. “Rude.”

“Do you want to go find some shithead and give him some just desserts?” Gabriel looks over to see Lucifer grin.

“Of course,” he replies. “Only one person, or...?”

“I usually do more than one, but I don’t want these guys,” Gabriel jerks a thumb toward the Bunker door, “getting on our asses about it. Would this count as stepping out of line?”

“Well, we can always tell them that we thought they meant stepping out of line in the Bunker, and therefore didn’t know. Which is true, as they didn’t specify, and it seems like they would only care if we did anything ‘out of line’ in the quarters.” Lucifer stands up and holds out a hand to Gabriel. “Let’s go kill an asshole.” Gabriel pulls himself up with Lucifer’s hand anchoring him and Hershey under his arm. He briefly opens the Bunker door to allow Hershey inside before flying off to some rural town with his brother beside him.

They quickly find a man that fits Gabriel’s MO, a middle-aged rather skinny man selling counterfeit drugs mixed with very deadly chemicals. Gabriel and Lucifer easily learned that he would generally sell these drugs to teenagers, or people in their early 20s.

“So, what do you want to do?” Lucifer asks, leaning against a heavily graffitied wall. Gabriel hums in thought. “We could always have him overdose on his own drugs.”

“True, but a lot of drug dealers don’t do their own drugs.” Gabriel sighs and leans his head back against the wall. “The chemicals he’s using are flammable, we can work with that.” So that’s what the two archangels do. They cause an “unfortunate” accident to fall upon the drug dealer, knowingly putting young people at risk. Someone happens to flick a lit cigarette into the man’s open window, landing just close enough to the counterfeit drugs, that it starts a blazing fire, with the drug dealer trapped inside his burning home. Gabriel watches as he goes down in flames with the house, a smile on his own face.

“Feel better now, little brother?”

“So much. Thanks Luci!”


	13. Try

Lucifer and Gabriel take their sweet time in getting back to the Bunker, only returning when Michael calls for them. Well, specifically Lucifer, but Gabriel follows him to their most-likely temporary home. Michael is there waiting for them with Adam close by. Michael looks slightly frustrated, which Gabriel hopes has nothing to do with him.

“Why?” Michael asks.

“Why what?” Lucifer responds. Adam sighs.

“Why’d you turn me into a demon?” Adam clarifies.

“Oh, that. Well, Adam, you see, your soul was already mostly black. I’m surprised you didn’t turn into a demon sooner. With all those decades of torture from me truly. So, I decided that the best decision would be to turn you into a demon so you wouldn’t have to suffer as much any longer. I really did it from the goodness of my heart,” Lucifer explains, smiling the entire time. “Plus, since I turned you myself, it makes you one of the strongest demons in existence.”

“I should tell Cassie,” Gabriel says, going off to the youngest of the angels. Gabriel is rather unsurprised when he finds Castiel and Sam talking in Sam’s bedroom. Sam notices him first and stops talking mid-sentence. He looks rather sheepish, which Gabriel finds rather adorable.

“Hi, Gabriel,” Sam says. Cas turns around and looks at his brother expectantly.

“Hey, Samwich. I came to tell Cassie that Luci turned Adam into a demon probably when you were telling Dean all about what happened.”

“He what?” Cas says, incredulous.

“Says it was gonna happen anyway, the process already started, so he just kinda, finished it I guess. You can complain to him about it, which I’m pretty sure Mika is doing right now,” Gabriel adds. Cas nods.

“I think I might. And Sam wanted to talk to you anyway.” Castiel turns to look at the younger Winchester. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, Cas,” Sam mumbles before the angel passes Gabriel and leaves the room. “Close the door?” Sam requests. Gabriel closes it before moving into the center of the room, unsure where to sit or stand. “You can sit on the bed,” Sam says, relaxing in his desk chair. Gabriel does, sitting cross-legged and waiting for Sam to speak. He doesn’t, and instead they wind up staring at each other for an indeterminate amount of time.

“Everything okay?” Sam sighs and runs his hands through his hair.

“Everything that’s happened in the last few days,” Sam takes a deep breath. “It’s kind of overwhelming. I was talking to Cas to see if it was all true, and from what he said, it really is.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, even though I know you love me and that wasn’t a lie, that you really mean everything you’ve said, I don’t know if I can ever love you back. Not here.” Gabriel takes a deep breath, trying not to let it get to him. “But I’ll be more than willing to give you a second chance.”

“Thanks,” Gabe says, meaning it. Now he feels kind of guilty about those just desserts he delivered earlier. “I’m still gonna flirt with you though.”

Sam laughs, genuinely laughs. “I wouldn’t really expect anything else. You’ve been flirting with me since we met.” Gabriel shrugs, smirking.

“Well, what can I say? You’re just one good-looking guy.”

“Not too bad yourself, though a little subpar for an archangel.”

Gabriel sits up. “Hey!” Sam’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t laugh or take it back. “You’re too tall for your own damn good. Of course, not that I mind. Really, I think I like tall men, or maybe I just like a good moose.”

“A moose that’s hard to catch?”

Gabriel waves his hand dismissively. “Details, details. Though a challenge keeps things interesting.” The two fall into a comfortable silence, Sam smiling lightly and Gabriel feeling the most at ease since he was mortal. Gabriel finds himself staring at Sam as he turns around to continue doing some sort of research at his desk. He alternates between flipping through pages of old books and scrolling through various websites on his laptop. “What are you looking for?”

“God,” Sam says. “Apparently you guys saw Him? Cas didn’t really say much else about it.”

“So, he didn’t tell you that our father looks like Chuck Shurley?” Sam freezes and turns his head to look at the archangel. He looks shocked. “I’m going to take that as a no…”

“But that doesn’t make sense. Chuck’s a prophet, apparently dead. And the amulet…” Sam sighs. “The amulet never did anything in his presence.” Gabriel hums.

“I’m sure Dad just turned it off or something. He’s kind of an asshole like that.”

“Must run in the family.”

“What?”

“I’m thinking of Lucifer, not you or Cas, really.” Gabriel nods. “So, you think I should look for Chuck?”

“Sure, and if we do find Him before Metatron, then we more or less don’t have to worry about Metatron messing with us anymore. Although, no angel has ever found him.” Sam grins at him.

“Well, Gabe, I’m not an angel. Maybe if we all work together, we can find Him.”

“What difference will that make?”

“Yeah, well get this, Gabriel. We have three archangels, an angel, two humans, and a demon in this bunker. I’m sure we can do it. We have to at least try.”

“What do you think is going to happen when we find Him, though? Because even I’m not sure. Like sure, we can make Dad listen to us and maybe give Michael back his sanity or something? And he can give me all the sweets in the world. That would be amazing.” Sam laughs.

“We can figure that out later, but we should go talk to everyone about it.”

“Okie-dokie Sammy! Especially since apparently Castiel can’t keep his mouth shut unless it’s about God.” Sam closes his laptop and tucks it under his arm before standing up. He stands up and walks to the door.

“You coming with?”

“Of course.”


	14. An Amulet, Some Grace, and a Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be completely honest, I still have no idea how many chapters this fic is gonna have

“So, we’re going to find God, who is actually Chuck, who no one has ever been able to find. Yeah, that makes perfect sense,” Dean says when Sam explains what Gabriel told him. “Chuck’s dead, and the amulet didn’t grow warmer or light up, or whatever the fuck it was supposed to do.”

“We no longer have to amulet either, so we have to way to find Him,” Castiel adds. Sam shifts.

“Actually,” Sam mumbles. “I kept it.”

“What?”

“I got it from the trashcan you put it in.” Sam sticks his hand in his pocket before pulling out the brass amulet he gave Dean for Christmas. “I’ve always kept it in my pocket, Dean.” Dean smiles and laughs, resting his head in his hand. “What?”

“You’ve always had more faith than me, Sammy.” The older Winchester gets up and smacks Sam on the back. “Let’s go find God.”

“Easier said than done, right?” Adam says. “Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, figure out where He could possibly be first?”

“That’s a great idea,” Sam agrees. “We could always check Chuck’s house, but it’s not very likely that He’ll be there. We could go there later today,” Sam gestures toward himself and Dean. “And we know that he definitely isn’t in Heaven.”

“Well, would the amulet work, now? It didn’t during the Apocalypse,” Dean says.

“Yeah, but I think Dad just turned it off. If we could find a way to turn the amulet on, then it would be easier,” Gabriel replies. Lucifer walks over to Sam and holds his hand out.

“Let me see,” Lucifer says, motioning for Sam to place the amulet in his palm. Sam very reluctantly hands it over. Lucifer picks the amulet up with his other hand, pinching the string just above the amulet with only his pointer finger and thumb. He holds it up to the light and inspects every angle. “Well, this is definitely a Dad-tracking device, and definitely switched off.”

“So what you’re saying, Luci, is that Dad played the Winchesters,” Gabriel wonders, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, sounds about right. And Castiel too.” Lucifer hands the necklace back to Sam. “If I’m being honest, and I’m always honest, I have no idea how to turn the tracking device back on.”

“Hey, Cassie, how many times have you died?” Gabriel asks. Cas tilts his head as he looks at him. “Seriously, I’m curious.”

“Well, Raphael killed me when I was helping Dean attempt to stop the last seal from breaking. Then Lucifer killed me.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that,” Lucifer says. “I was wearing Sam.”

“Don’t talk about me like a piece of clothing!”

“Then the thing with the Leviathans. And a reaper also killed me. So I guess, four times I’ve died,” Castiel continues, ignoring Lucifer’s comment. “Why?”

“Curious, like I said. How many times are ‘Acts of God?’” Gabriel asks using air quotes.

“I’m not sure.”

“Probably the first three. Gadreel brought you back that fourth time,” Dean says. “And the other times can’t exactly be explained, other than God. What’s the point of these questions?”

“Well, Dean-o, I just wanted to see how much our father likes Castiel, and I’m sorry to say Lucifer, but I think you’ve been replaced as his favorite angel,” Gabe explains. Lucifer sighs. “And what’s with your Grace? I didn’t want to mention it until now. But it isn’t right.”

“I think it’s obvious,” Michael says, the first time he’s spoken since Sam called everyone into the room. “It’s not his.” Castiel looks down at the table, clearly ashamed.

“You can do that?” Adam asks.

“Yes, but the Grace doesn’t work very well, and it doesn’t feel right, and you burn it out over time and use,” Lucifer begins to explain. “Plus, if it burns out and you don’t have any of your own Grace, well, you burn out with it.”

“I didn’t know that last part,” Castiel mumbles. Dean and Sam are staring at him. “It isn’t like I would have much Grace of my own left, even if I can find it.”

“What happened to it?” Adam questions. “Seriously, what happened when I was in Hell?”

“A lot,” Dean replies.

“Metatron took it,” Sam says. “Cas, we just thought you got your Grace back.” Cas slowly shakes his head, indicating that no, he did not get his Grace back. He nearly forgot about this entire experience with Metatron here instead of as his principal.

“Why did he take it?” Michael asks slowly. “Why couldn’t he have just taken mine instead?” Castiel glances at his older brothers and the Winchesters.

“To close Heaven. All the angels have fallen. Metatron still has some of my Grace left, but I don’t know where.” Castiel sighs. “In order to be more helpful, I stole another angel’s Grace.”

“Also, let’s not forget about Abaddon running around,” Dean adds. “There’s a lot you four missed. And Cas,” Dean turns to look at the angel, “you’re always helpful. It’s not like there was anything we could have done, any of us, to stop...to stop what Gadreel did for Metatron.” Castiel gives him a grateful smile.

“Abaddon? She won’t be a problem anymore, I’m sure. She’ll listen to me and all will be fine,” Lucifer says, a smile on his face. “Or at least that problem will be solved. How were you planning on killing her anyway? Not much can kill her.” Dean clears his throat and avoids eye contact with everyone.

“Dean has made a lot of stupid choices recently. Including, but not limited to, allowing Gadreel to possess me, and letting Crowley out of the Bunker,” Sam says, giving Dean a very pointed look. Dean shuffles under his brother’s glare.

“And also some not as recent but equally stupid,” Adam adds. “Like not getting me out of the Cage.”

“I think, suffice it to say, both Dean and I have not made the best of choices in our lives. Although I do think the most recent one you’ve made, Dean, is the worst,” Castiel says.

“Thanks, Cas,” Dean murmurs.

“Ah. You have the Mark of Cain,” Lucifer says, nodding sagely. “That would kill Abaddon. That would kill a lot of people. You really don’t know what the Mark does, Dean.”

“And you do?”

“Yeah, I was the first being to have it. Also, you can’t destroy it, that won’t be good for anyone. But, one problem at a time. Dad and Metatron are pressing concerns.”

“What do you mean I can’t destroy it?”


	15. Darkness and Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in college now, which is really weird and surreal.

“Before the world was made, before any other angels were created, it was just us Archangels and God,” Michael says. “And his sister.”

“I’m sorry, what? God has a sister?!” Dean asks, flabbergasted at the possibility.

“Yeah, she was a real piece of work. Kept destroying all of Dad’s stuff, wanted to consume our Graces. It wasn’t cool,” Gabriel adds. “She was, is, called the Darkness. Though she might prefer a different name. Who knows.”

“The point is, we all fought her alongside Dad, and then He sealed her away. He had to create a lock and key, which He gave to me,” Lucifer continues. “Dad told me never to destroy the lock and key, as it would free her and she was so difficult to put away the first time, and we can’t kill her or the universe becomes unbalanced, or some shit like that. Anyway, the lock and key is the Mark of Cain. Feeds on your anger, and could drive you insane. Turns you into a murderer.”

“And you gave it to Cain,” Michael mutters.

“Yes I did. He wanted a way to save his brother, so I gave him one.”

“This history lesson is all very interesting, but aren’t we looking for God?” Adam asks, getting everyone back on track. “I don’t know much about Him, but it seems like He’d want to be away from people.”

“He could always just be on a different planet,” Michael deadpans. “Wouldn’t be very convenient for Sam and Dean.”

“Gabe and I can do a quick check of all the planets, see if Dad’s there,” Lucifer suggests. “While you two go to His old house.”

“What about us?” Castiel asks, gesturing to Michael and Adam.

“You can look for your Grace while Michael holds down the fort? How’s that sound?” Gabriel says. Adam shrugs in response, and Michael nods in agreement.

“Okay, that sounds like a good idea, but I’m not sure how I feel about Michael staying here,” Dean says.

“It’s not like he’ll be helpful in any way,” Lucifer states. “Just saying the truth, Mika. And maybe on the way back, I can go talk to Abaddon, maybe reclaim the throne in Hell. Get the forces of Hell to help us.”

“So? Everyone agree?” Gabriel wonders. There are nods and murmurs of agreement. “Then let’s go explore the solar system!” Lucifer and Gabriel disappear in a flutter of wings. Adam stands up and walks over to where Castiel is sitting.

“You have a car? Any leads?” Adam asks the angel. Castiel shakes his head. “I think we should start with where you fell to Earth. Or the last place you were on Earth before losing your Grace.” Castiel nods.

“We should get going then,” Castiel says. “We will start with where I landed. I’ll see you later Dean.” Castiel gets up and gives Dean a quick kiss before placing a hand on Adam’s shoulder and leaving to the side of a road in Colorado.

“Well, we should get going too, Sammy,” Dean says, clapping his brother on the shoulder and heading toward the garage.

~

Gabriel and Lucifer start their voyage of space on Mercury. They simultaneously agreed that they would search the planets starting closest to the Sun and ending on Pluto. They would search the asteroid belt while they were out there too. The two land on the surface of Mercury.

“So, you wanna just fly around?” Gabriel asks. “It’ll be a lot quicker.” Lucifer shrugs and nods at the same time. The archangels take off again, swiftly searching Mercury, Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, before settling down on Pluto. “Find anything?”

“No. You?”

“Nothing.” Gabriel lets out a weary sigh. “Why is He hiding from us? Why did he show Himself when we were in high school?”

“I don’t know. Probably because we couldn’t do anything about anything there. Yet it was still better, and that doesn’t quite make sense.”

“Why are we even trying to find Him anyway? Not like he wants to help us. Castiel isn’t even sure if he wants to go back anymore.” Lucifer rests an arms across Gabriel’s shoulders. “No really, I’m actually not sure why we’re trying to find Dad right now.”

“He could get rid of the Mark of Cain,” Lucifer states. “That would be helpful, I’m sure. And he can reopen the gates to Heaven, punish Metatron, give our brothers and sisters their wings back. Maybe we can convince Him to stick around for a while.”

“Fix the world or something?”

“Or something. Maybe give the Winchesters a break? Not that I care too much about that, but I know you and Castiel do.” Lucifer hums. “Maybe even give me a break. Wouldn’t that be nice.”


	16. No Cheats

Castiel and Adam arrive on the side of a road in Colorado and spend a couple of hours searching the surrounding area. They, unfortunately, find absolutely nothing. No clues, no traces of Grace. Castiel expects as much, but Adam gets incredibly frustrated. He keeps quiet, but Castiel can easily see his irritation and anger. Castiel grips Adam’s shoulder and takes off to the last place he saw Metatron on Earth. But they come across nothing. And they continue to search across the globe, finding no hints, and Castiel exhausting his borrowed grace quicker than wanted.

“We might as well check Hell!” Adam exclaims once Castiel nearly collapses from exhaustion. “Where could this guy even hide it?”

“Heaven, where I can’t get it,” Cas says, barely able to catch his breath. He feels his fingers tingle, and decides that is not a good sign. “I don’t think we’ll be able to find it without finding Metatron first.”

“So, all this flying around was completely useless,” Adam deadpans. “Great. Would’ve been better to stay at home.” Castiel shakes his head.

“We would’ve had to check eventually,” the angel responds. “Even if it wasn’t for my Grace, but rather to find any leads for Metatron.” Adam crosses his arms. “I was searching for those as well.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we found someone that’s working with Metatron?”

“The only being that I can think of is Gadreel, and I’m not sure how we could find him. The last we saw of him was when Crowley helped expel him from Sam’s body.”

“Can’t you track him using some sort of angel voodoo, or whatever?”

Castiel’s brow furrows. “It isn’t voodoo.”

“Magic. I don’t know, whatever it is,” Adam shrugs, rolling his eyes. “And if you can’t do it, I’m sure Lucifer could. I would say Michael, but…” Castiel hums in thought, eventually agreeing with Adam’s suggestion. Castiel flies the two of them back to the Bunker, and stumbles into a table when they land. Michael looks up at them, absentmindedly scratching behind Hershey’s ears. Cas sits downs and waits for the world to stop spinning around him as Adam immediately goes to the kitchen.

“You could always take my Grace,” Michael states. Castiel blinks as he looks up at him, frowning. “I am sure it is more powerful than whatever Grace you are running on now.”

“No,” Castiel responds. “I won’t take another one of our siblings’ Grace. It isn’t right, and I shouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Michael sighs. “I think it might be for the best if I became human again.” Castiel takes a deep breath. “And then I will be able to grow old with Dean, if we don’t find God.”

“I could remove your borrowed Grace, if you would like,” Michael suggests, lifting Hershey from his lap and placing the dog gently on the table. “I would not want to watch you burn out. Neither would Lucifer or Gabriel. And Dean, I’m sure.”

“Either of you two want a sandwich or something?” Adam shouts from the kitchen.

“Peanut butter and jelly, please!” Castiel responds. Michael stays silent, waiting for Castiel’s response to his suggestion. Cas turns his attention back on his older brother. “I would have to think about it, Michael. If the Grace comes close to exhausting, then yes, but until I find what is left of my Grace, I will keep this one.” Adam emerges from the kitchen, eating a sandwich, and holding Castiel’s in his other hand. He puts it on the table in front of the angel before sitting down next to Michael. Cas takes a moment to ponder on why Adam seems closer to Michael than anyone else. He opens his mouth to voice his question, when Gabriel appears on the tabletop.

“Well Dad’s not on any other planet in the solar system,” Gabriel announces. “And Luci is down in Hell figuring things out. How’d everything go with you guys?”

“Didn’t find Him, or my Grace, or Metatron,” Cas says, sudden frustration seeping into his voice. He picks up his PB&J and takes a half-hearted bite, knowing it will only taste like molecules.

“Or any clues of where any of those can be,” Adam adds. “We were wondering though, if either of you can find where Gadreel is.” Gabriel and Michael look at each other and shrug.

“There’s one way I can think of, but I don’t know how well it would work in our situation,” Gabriel says. “If we had some of his Grace, we could track him.”

“So, where do we get his Grace?” Adam asks. Gabriel grimaces as Hershey climbs into his lap. “Or can we not, because no one here seems to have any luck whatsoever. Me included.”

“We can…” Gabriel says slowly. “From Sam.”

“What?” Cas asks.

“He has some leftover Grace, just as he had some of Lucifer’s, and Adam most likely has some of Mika’s, but getting it could be difficult and have negative side effects on the mind, possibly even fatal, so I’d rather not.”

“ _Had_ some of Lucifer’s?” Michael wonders.

“I don’t know, he might still have some left, how should I know,” Gabriel says, shrugging. “But with us archangels, it’s probably a bit different and Lucifer might still have some sort of connection to Sam’s mind through his leftover Grace. I wouldn’t know though.”

“Could this possible connection allow Lucifer to appear before Sam as a hallucination?” Castiel asks, phrasing his question carefully. Gabriel shrugs before nodding. Cas hums and takes another bite of his sandwich. Adam slams his hands on the table, causing Castiel to nearly choke.

“Let’s get the Grace out of Sam,” Adam states. Gabriel turns to look at him, wings bristling and beginning to flare out behind him. “We need to find Gadreel, right? And as of right now, we have no other way of finding him.”

“We are not risking Sam’s life trying to find Gadreel!” Gabriel exclaims. “We don’t even know if there’s enough Grace in Sam to perform the tracking spell.” Adam raises an eyebrow, completely unimpressed.

“You could just bring him back to life.” The angels fall silent. Gabriel rubs Hershey’s belly as the dog rolls over in his lap.

“I’m not going to watch Sam die. We have to do it the old-fashioned way.”


	17. Corruption

“Yeah, because the old-fashioned way is really working out for everyone,” Adam snarks. “We need a way that’s more efficient, and plus, three archangels seem like they’d be more powerful than one regular angel, like Metatron or Gadreel.”

“If Metatron locked Heaven, then he might have the Angel Tablet, which could, in theory, make an angel stronger and to have almost God-like abilities,” Michael mutters. “Does he have the tablet?”

“I thought Luci had it,” Gabriel says.

“I removed it from his crypt,” Castiel mutters, thinking back to that moment when he couldn’t stop beating Dean. When Naomi had control of his actions. “And I believe Gadreel took it, with the Demon Tablet, to Metatron.” Adam sighs in exasperation, and Castiel really can’t blame him.

~

No one comes to any decision on how to find Gadreel, or God, until Sam and Dean come back. Sam shakes his head when asked about God. Adam groans and heads to his room. Dean goes to the kitchen, coming back with two beers, before he sits down next to Cas. He passes one of the bottles to Sam.

“Thanks,” Sam mumbles, gratefully taking the beer. The brothers open their bottles and take a swig simultaneously. “Where’s Lucifer?”

“In Hell,” Gabriel easily replies. Everyone lapses back into silence. Michael gets up and goes outside. “He’s taking a while,” Gabriel says after a while. Then Lucifer flutters into the room. “Ah, speak of the Devil!” Sam’s mouth briefly quirks upward into an amused smile. His smile fades, however, when he notices Abaddon standing slightly behind the Devil. Dean quickly notices as well, hands gripping the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white. “And he brought Abaddon, of course you did.”

“Get out,” Dean all but growls. “Both of you, get out.”

“Dean-”

“No, Cas!” Dean says, voice growing louder. “This is out of line!” Castiel tentatively puts his hand over one of Dean’s and he feels the Winchester relax minutely. Lucifer sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Dean, she’s going to help us find my father.”

“She killed my grandfather, and she tried to kill us too,” Dean states. Abaddon crosses her arms and leans against the wall.

“And now you’re trying to kill me,” she replies.

“If I had the Blade right now, I would, without hesitation,” Dean deadpans. Lucifer sighs. “What? Do you think I’m joking?”

“No, unfortunately,” Lucifer states. “But you don’t have the Blade right now, and Abaddon is here to _help_ us.”

“On _your_ word, which isn’t reassuring.” Castiel feels Dean’s hands begin to shake. “Now, I want both of you to _leave.”_

“I could easily kill you, you know,” Lucifer states in a non-threatening manner. He’s merely stating the facts. “Mark of Cain or no, you aren’t a threat to me and you can’t make me leave.”

“We had conditions, Lucifer,” Sam chimes in. “You said you would follow through with them.”

“And I will,” Lucifer says. “But I won’t listen to Dean when his thoughts are distorted by the Mark.” Abaddon leans over and mutters something in Lucifer’s ear. He shrugs.

“My thoughts aren’t distorted,” Dean practically growls. Castiel gently squeezes his hand, causing Dean to look over at him. “They aren’t.” Cas nods.

“I know, Dean,” the angel says. “At least hear them out.”

“No.”

“Well, it looks like we aren’t going to get anywhere with this,” Abaddon says. She turns to Lucifer. “We should just follow out your plan without their help. I told you they wouldn’t listen.” Her gaze falls on Adam. “Could use him too.”

“I’m not going back to Hell,” Adam deadpans.

“Yeah, fair enough,” Lucifer mutters. “I’ll be back, probably.” Lucifer and Abaddon disappear, presumably going back to Hell. Gabriel looks over at Dean, then locks eyes with Castiel. 

There’s a pained expression in his eyes as he whispers in Castiel’s mind, _“I’m sorry.”_ Castiel tilts his head. _“You shouldn’t have to go through this.”_

“What?” Castiel asks Gabriel. 

“You didn’t know Luci before he had the Mark,” Gabriel replies. “He was different. Kinder, loving even. I think you saw a glimpse of it. There’s a reason he’s the Morningstar.” Gabriel’s voice turns fond as he reminisces.

“The best of us,” Michael whispers.

“What does this have to do with anything?” Dean asks, the tension having mostly left his body. Castiel is glad that he has stopped shaking.

“It’s about the Mark, Dean,” Sam says. “About what it will do to you.”

“It makes me stronger,” Dean says. Sam levels Bitch Face #12 at him. “And a murderer, I know Sammy. Not like I didn’t kill things before.”

“Dean,” Sam says, equal parts exasperated and worried. “You don’t care anymore.” Dean shrugs. “The way you’ve started lashing out after you got the Mark…” Sam sighs. “It isn’t you, Dean.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do, Dean! I’ve known you my entire life! You can fight against this.”

“I don’t think he can,” Michael says. Sam looks over at the archangel, mouth open to respond, possibly argue against him. “If the Mark can corrupt an archangel, I am sure that Dean has no chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may or may not be able to upload another chapter next week, it really depends on like how much hw I have from college and all that. I will try but I haven't finished the chapter so.


	18. No Spoilers? There's Crowley Though.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I'm aware that this chapter isn't finished.

“That’s greatly reassuring, thank you Michael,” Gabriel says sarcastically without missing a beat. Adam snorts. “But where is the Blade anyway?”

“Crowley has it,” Sam says. “Didn’t trust Dean not to kill him with it.”

“He’ll give it back to me now,” Dean states. “Since I know where Abaddon is. Even if she does help us, I’m sure she’ll try to kill us after.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Gabriel says. “But if you get the Blade now then she won’t even be able to help us a little bit, because you’ll kill her on sight.”

“You know that?” Adam asks. Gabriel shrugs. “This family is fucked up.” Adam stands up. “Maybe I will go back to Hell,” they hear Adam mutter as he leaves.

“I’m calling Crowley,” Dean states, pulling out his phone. “And I’m getting the Blade.” Everyone watches as Dean quickly dials the King of Hell - is he still the King of Hell with Lucifer back? - and puts his phone to his ear.

“Hello, Squirrel,” Crowley greets. “Have you found her?”

“Yeah, I have,” Dean replies. “So come over here and give me the Blade. Unless you’re in Hell, then I’ll come to you.”

“Why would I be in Hell when Abaddon says she’s running the place?” Crowley asks, incredulous. “Some demons just aren’t very loyal, and she might be there herself. You’re at the Bunker?” Dean grunts in affirmation. Crowley hangs up and Dean puts his phone down on the table.

“What are you planning to do once you have the Blade?” Castiel wonders. Dean shrugs and leans back in his chair. “Dean.”

“What do you think, Cas?”

“Going to Hell to kill Abaddon is not a good idea.”

“Cas is right, Dean,” Sam chimes in. “There’s so many demons there, a lot of which are loyal to Abaddon.”

“Whoever said I was going to Hell?” Dean stands up and practically storms down the hallway toward his bedroom. “Tell me when Crowley gets here!” Sam lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“I’m worried, Cas,” he mumbles. “I don’t understand why he agreed to get the Mark in the first place.” Castiel shakes his head.

“We’ve all made questionable decisions; Dean and I quite recently,” Castiel replies. “I’m not sure any of us know the full extent of what the Mark of Cain does. I know that it goes deeper than the skin, affecting the soul.”

“We do, Father does,” Michael states. “And we can learn what is to come through Cain’s own story.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asks.

“It’s pretty likely that Dean will follow Cain’s story, but with some sort of twist. Kind of like you and Dean and Lucifer and Michael,” Gabriel explains. “Seems to be a common thing with Dad and this universe.”

“What exactly is going to happen?” Sam asks.

“Well, if he doesn’t kill, then his soul will slowly turn demonic,” Michael starts. “And it is impossible for him to die, as a safeguard to prevent the Darkness from escaping her prison. The Mark feeds off existing negative emotions and makes them stronger, as it did with Lucifer.”

“The rage gets worse with time,” Gabriel adds.

“And he was already so filled with rage,” another voice says. Sam twists in his chair to find Crowley standing a few feet behind him. “I didn’t realize you had company, Moose.”

“This is Gabriel and Michael,” Sam introduces to Crowley. Crowley’s eyes flicker to the archangels, but he retains his composure. “I don’t think you should give Dean the Blade.” Crowley raises an eyebrow.

“You say that like I haven’t thought about it,” he states. “But Abaddon is a problem that needs to be solved. And he already has the Mark, he might as well use it. You want her gone too, if I remember correctly.”

“It’s different now,” Sam says. “Lucifer’s back, and we’re trying to find God. Again.” Crowley sighs. “It’s not like I wanted him back. But if you still want to follow through, Dean’s in his room.” Crowley doesn’t hesitate as he begins walking to the older Winchester’s room. Sam sighs and slumps in his chair.

Dean hears a knock on his door. He tells whoever it is to come in. He’s unsurprised when he sees Crowley walk into the room. Dean remains relaxed on his bed, legs stretched out in front of him. He holds out his hand expectantly, but Crowley doesn’t move from the doorway.

“I won’t give you the Blade until you lead me to Abaddon,” Crowley states. “But, we’ll need to get her alone first; I would rather not see Lucifer.” Dean swings his legs over the edge of his bed.

“She’s most likely in Hell,” Dean replies. “Couldn’t we summon her, or something?” Crowley raises an eyebrow.

“Are you thinking for once?” he asks. “I’m surprised. However, I don’t think you know how to summon her, and even if we did she would most likely not come. It would most likely require a human sacrifice as well.” Dean rolls his eyes. “Any other suggestions? Or are you done thinking?”


End file.
